


just wanna be with you

by euphorickiri



Series: rina week 2020 [7]
Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: F/M, Love Confessions, Rina Week 2020 (HSM: The Series)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24249364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/euphorickiri/pseuds/euphorickiri
Summary: gina thought things between her and ricky were one-sided. she doesn't expect him to prove her wrong
Relationships: Ricky Bowen/Gina Porter
Series: rina week 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1741261
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	just wanna be with you

“I had a feeling you’d be here.”

Gina sat next to Ricky who looked surprised to see her. They were sitting in the skate park, the same spot where they first talked. It was late so they were the only people there. 

“You stalking me Porter?” Ricky teased.

Gina rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder. “ _No_. But we’re supposed to be at Denny’s crying over pancakes with the rest of the cast right now.”

The shows for Beauty and the Beast were a success, despite the many messy rehearsals they went through. After Nini decided to go to YAC, things were complicated for a while. She didn’t talk to anyone after making her decision, not even Kourtney or Ricky. What confused everyone the most was that she left without saying goodbye. Gina was slightly hurt but was more concerned with how Kourtney and Ricky took it. She assumed Nini talked to them privately, but it didn’t go well. Kourtney was angry and Ricky was just upset. 

Gina regretted distancing herself from him seeing him in that state, but she knew it was the best thing for her. After she heard that Nini and Ricky got back together, she couldn’t stand to be around them anymore. It hurt to see how fast Ricky forgot about her and everything that happened between them. 

But even in her efforts to avoid him, Gina still found herself drawn to him. 

They were still friends, but they both knew things weren’t the same as before. Ricky didn’t bother to address it and neither did Gina. It made it easier to bury her feelings in the long run, but that was easier said than done. She was happy for Ricky, she really was. But Gina couldn’t stop thinking about what could’ve happened if she never left, and she was constantly being reminded every time she saw Ricky and Nini together. So she kept her distance. Which did work, for a while.

Until the cast list came out for the musical.

Gina was happy to see that EJ and Kourtney were playing the leads. They’ve worked hard and it was about time Miss Jenn saw that. At first, Gina didn’t have a big reaction when she saw she would be playing the feather duster, who was Lumiere’s love interest. She didn’t care about getting the lead anymore and just wanted to enjoy herself. That quickly changed when she saw Ricky’s name listed next to Lumiere. If that wasn’t enough, they were also the understudies for the Beast and Belle. 

They had no choice _but_ to spend time with each other. 

Ricky was still hung up on Nini, so he wasn’t focused during rehearsals. She had left for YAC right before rehearsals started, not bothering to try out for the musical. It was weird for everyone not to have her there, but they had to move on. Miss Jenn yelled at them almost every other day, trying to get everyone to get on track. 

Gina ended up snapping at Ricky, telling him to pull it together. 

“Look, Nini is gone. She made her choice and you can’t be mad at her for that. So suck it up and start focusing on rehearsals!” 

She expected an argument from him, but he surprisingly listened without any complaint. Gina made sure to avoid mentioning Nini around him, and things between them were okay. Still weird, but okay. Gina tried to ignore her feelings throughout rehearsals, but it was hard to do that when she was with Ricky all the time. She knew when he flirted he was doing it as Lumiere, but Gina almost passed out when he kissed her hand and winked. Miss Jenn wouldn’t stop raving about their chemistry, which only made it worse. 

But she got through it, and the musical was amazing. Everyone was celebrating after closing night, figuring out what place to eat at. As soon as they decided on Denny’s, Gina noticed Ricky slip out. She knew she should’ve just let him go, but she let her concern get the best of her. 

“If I’m being honest, Denny’s isn’t that good,” Ricky said with a laugh, but it fell flat.

“I hope you know I’m not leaving until you tell the truth,” Gina muttered. “This is supposed to be a happy night. I mean it’s sad because EJ’s leaving, but besides that everything else is great. So I don’t understand why you’re sitting here moping.”

“Why are you trying to understand?”

She was taken aback by his sharp tone. It’s not like he was wrong. Gina had been closed off, so this was out of the blue. But she couldn’t stop herself from glaring at him, her emotions boiling over. 

“You can be an asshole, you know that?” Gina snapped. “I didn’t have to come here. But I did because I care about you.”

“If you really cared about me, you then why did you shut me out?” Ricky shot back. “First you ignored me after Ashlyn’s Thanksgiving party, and then you acted like I was a stranger when you came back! What’s with the sudden change of heart?”

“I could ask you the same damn thing!”

She got up, clenching her fists tightly. “You never cared about me. I was just a distraction for you, wasn’t I?”

“Gina-”

“I’m not saying I’m innocent. I made a mistake by pushing you away, I’ll admit that. But you used me so you could forget about Nini. One minute you were spinning me around after we saved Miss Jenn, and the next you were back together with Nini. You just went back to her and left me behind. I should hate you for it, but I can’t no matter how hard I try. So I’m so fucking sorry if I offended you by being here.” 

She turned away, tears blurring her vision. Gina froze when she felt Ricky grip her wrist, glaring at him over her shoulder. “Can you just-”

“You weren’t a distraction.”

Gina’s breath hitched. 

“I’m sorry if I made you feel that way, but you were never a distraction Gi,” Ricky assured. “You made me feel things that I’ve never felt before. Not even with Nini. When you left, I couldn’t handle things changing again. Nini has always been a part of my life. Going back to her just made sense. I knew what to expect and we made each other happy.”

Ricky held Gina’s hands, smiling slightly. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything, still trying to process everything he was saying. 

“When you came back, I didn’t know how to react. You’re the first person in my life to leave and come back,” Ricky continued. “I tried to tell myself that I was back to the person I always was before you left, but it didn’t feel right. Telling Nini I loved her didn’t feel right. I do love her, I always will. But not in the way that I should.”

“But you were so upset when she left,” Gina protested quietly.

“I was upset with how she dropped everything and left, but we both agreed breaking up was the best thing,” he explained. “Nini said she needed to figure herself out, and I needed to be honest with myself.”

Gina felt like she was dreaming. Her eyes went wide when Ricky moved closer, resting his forehead against hers. 

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about homecoming. That night has played on repeat in my head, and I can’t stop kicking myself for not kissing you that night.”

Ricky smiled and Gina felt her heart stop.

“I love you Gina. I always have.”

She was speechless. 

Gina didn’t know how to describe what she was feeling. She never thought Ricky would feel the same, let alone be truthful about his feelings. 

“I know this is probably a lot but-”

Gina surged forward, pressing her lips against his. She wrapped her arms around Ricky’s neck and pulled him close, a small blush on her face. Ricky wrapped his arms around her waist, smiling into the kiss.

“I love you too dumbass,” Gina murmured. 

“You couldn’t resist insulting me could you?” Ricky deadpanned.

She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Never.”

Ricky rolled his eyes fondly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leading them towards his car. “Think we can still make it to Denny’s?”

“With the way you drive?” Gina scoffed.

“I pour my heart out to you and this is how you treat me?”

She laughed at the offended look on the other teen’s face. Gina towards Ricky’s car, pausing when she looked through the window. She smiled and opened the door, grabbing the hat she made for him from the seat. Ricky walked up to Gina and she turned around, putting the hat on his head. 

“Looks like I grew into it,” he said.

“It’s about time,” Gina teased with a smirk. 

They kissed again and got into the car, driving towards Denny’s. Ricky turned the radio on and they sang along, screaming at the top of their lungs. Gina laughed and watched Ricky with a fond smile. 

She never wanted this moment to end. 


End file.
